Naiman Hazaras constitute a large portion of Hazara population in Afghanistan. Like many other Hazaras, they are Sunni, Shia and they also have considerable number of Ismailies among them. They live mainly in Shekhali region of Hazaristan, as well as Baghlan province in Northern Afghanistan. Other independent Naimans live outside Afghanistan mainly in Central Asian countries, such as Kazakhstan (1), Uzbekistan and Mongolia (2).

Shekhali is not a tribe, it’s an area. Hazaras living in Shekhali are mainly Naimans. However, they have formed smaller clans to organise themselves such as Naimo, Karamali etc. In Hazaragi, we tend to pronounce a word which ends with an “aan” as just “o”, e.g. Bamiyan = Bamiyo or Jaan = Jo etc. Therefore, “Naimo” stands for the name Naiman.

Hazara history follows a number of chronological stages. However, the most important events to the history of the Hazara people occurred after the establishment of the ancient Bamiyan civilisation, which dates back many centuries before the birth of Christ. Hazara ancestors had already created a rich culture and civilisation before they built the giant statues of the Buddha. So the construction of the statues in the 350 AD does not indicate the start of their civilisation.

There is still uncertainties to whether the statues were built by the Kushan Empire or the Hunnic empires. Kushan Empire started in the first century and ended in 300AD, which was not when the statues were constructed. Hunnic tribes rose to power after the Kushans, so there is a convincing proof that the statues were built by the Huns.

To simplify the Hazara history it is a good idea to divide the events into two stages, which will help us to clarify some of the incorrect assumptions that are made by some historians.

Before 12th century – The Kushans and the Hunnic Hazara ancestors who build the Gaint Buddhas in Bamiyan, Mahmood of Ghazni (Ghaznavid Empire) and Mohammad Turk of Ghuri etc…

During and after the 12th centuty – The Great Mongol Empire, Ilkhaanid Empire…

Hazara is not a tribe. Hazara is a confederation of many Mongolic and Turkic tribes. It was formed after the collapse of the Ilkhaanid Empire, when the defeated soldiers returned back home (Hazaristan) from other countries. So Hazaras are an Altaic people. This is also proven by DNA tests and their physical features and most importantly their history.